FRANCIS west — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

It’s absolutely a very bad experience!! The food is not the issue, but the service is horrible. I booked a table via their online booking system 5 days ago. One of the questions in the booking form was asking if any special note to the restaurant. So I made a special request that please put a birthday message on the dessert, as it’s for my friend’s birthday celebration. Then one day before the brunch, I received another email and asked me to confirm the booking. Again I put one more time with the special request on this confirmation email. However, when I arrived the restaurant, and asked again just to double confirm whether they noticed my request. First of all, the receptionist Malli didn’t notice my request, she replied to me with her angry face and impolite attitude and said they didn’t have that kind of service, what they could do it’s only to put a candle on the dessert. Then I asked why no one called me in advance if you can’t do it, especially I made twice of the request already. Malli was totally impolite again and rolled her eyes. When we sat down, and waited for awhile, no one provided menu to us, until we had to ask for it. But the table next to us, when they just sat down, someone brought them menu right away.

What’s the worst part!! When the dessert came, there is just a normal dessert, not even putting a candle!!!!! Which I made it very clear when arriving the restaurant….. I am not expecting a very good service, but at least a cancel right!? If a guest made the special request twice already and you can’t do it, can you please inform the guest in advance??? As we may change our plan or we could prepare something I else. Plus Malli’s attitude is super bad...

We had high expectations going in and we were satisfied. Not one single bad dish. None.

For appetisers, we had the hummus, the eggplant, the cauliflower and the calamari. The hummus is smooth and bright with just the right kick with the added spices. I am not a big fan of calamari in general, but this one also made me tried more than a few bites. The ink sauce was a nice touch but the chewiness of the calamari goes with the sauce is just like it was dancing on your tongue. The sour cream with the cauliflower is just out of this world, and the fried cauliflower is so crisp it’s just hits me hard and soft at the same time.

But the star of the appetiser is the eggplant with the braised pepper. I dont even know how you can braise pepper to such a soft and tender texture that it carries the whole dish.

For main we did the chicken and the beef skewer, and it looks just how it taste, juicy inside but crispy on the outside, and the sauces are just phenomenal. I was surprised at the fact that the beef isn’t too dry or stringy and coupled with the sauces and picked vegetables it just really rock my tastebuds.

Finally the pistachio dessert is one to go for, no need for me to introduce. Fried with these noodle-like coating on the outside, the bread inside is soft and full, ready to soak in all the cream on top. One bite and you’ve got hot, cold, crisp, pillowy, sweet, savoury, and everything else. Absolutely phenomenal.

The restaurant is nice for talking and a group of friends catching up, and we adore the servers there too. We stayed until a bit too late but they were nice enough and never bothered us. Will...

There’s two Francis, one in Wan Chai, near the Admiralty station, one in Soho, named Francis west. They mainly serve Mediterranean dishes, taking inspirations from The North Africa region. The staff will be introducing the menu and recommending signature dishes so you know what you are ordering despite without pictures. Kicking off with sourdough frena, perfectly charred frena, pairs very well with the hummus, red zhug, matbucha. The only disadvantage is that the frena is too small to be shared among two of us. Lamb ribs are marinated with orange juicy, making them juicy, paired with yogurt and coriander. They are meaty and chewy but just 5 of them aren’t enough. The most surprising dish is Jerusalem artichokes. They tastes like a mixture of potatoes and eggplants, seasoned with tomato sauce and vine leaves. The seasonings are very fragrant and strong, suits my tastebuds. Beef kehab is fairly good, chewy and juicy, paired with green pepper salsa and amba. They gives a spicy and sour taste to the beef. I am mostly impressed by the nice staff at the mini bar. They give us a free glass of alcohol to drink with. Overall, it is a very good dining experience, very good for a quality...